US APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS BLOCK ON TRUMP’S MAIL-IN VOTING ORDER
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Agency Report
A US appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously upheld a preliminary injunction issued by District Judge Indira Talwani, which barred the US Postal Service (USPS) from implementing measures contained in the executive order.
The Trump administration has already appealed the ruling to the US Supreme Court.
The appeals court agreed with the district court that implementing the order “will likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any — gains in combating voter fraud.”
The case was brought by a coalition of Democratic-led states, which argued that the US Constitution gives states, rather than the federal government, broad authority over the conduct of elections.
The ruling comes as states prepare for the midterm elections, with North Carolina beginning to send mail-in ballots to voters last week and other states also commencing the process.
Trump signed the executive order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting, claiming that the system was vulnerable to fraud.
Under the order, lists of eligible voters would be compiled, with the USPS required to deliver mail-in ballots only to voters whose names appeared on the lists.
A USPS whistleblower has also warned that millions of Americans could fail to receive their ballots, alleging that the systems being used by the postal service were developed in a “sloppy and rushed manner.”
Trump has long criticised mail-in voting but has also used the system himself, including voting by mail in Florida’s Republican primary last month.
The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting is highly vulnerable to fraud and has linked the practice to his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by Democrat Joe Biden.
The legal battle comes as Republicans face a potentially difficult fight to retain their narrow control of Congress in the November elections, with Democrats particularly targeting the House of Representatives.
Democratic lawmakers have signalled that, if they regain control of Congress, they could seek to block key elements of Trump’s agenda and potentially pursue impeachment proceedings against him for a third time.
AFP
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